


To the Future

by Wrensiferum



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Explicit Language, Fluff and Angst, Homophobic Language, Implied Make-up Sex, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Long-Term Relationship(s), Lover's Quarrel, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Plans For The Future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 18:11:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12965412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wrensiferum/pseuds/Wrensiferum
Summary: Ignis and Gladio struggle with the expectations of the kingdom they've sworn to serve and protect. Their responsibilities come with a price. Come what may, can they remain at each other's side?





	To the Future

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning: I use some homophobic slurs in this. I in no way condone their use, but when having an honest discussion of heteronormative expectations it can be useful to confront the language used to perpetuate it. I welcome all here and want everyone to feel safe.
> 
> Trigger warning aside, I welcome any comments and feedback. Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy!

Ignis sipped his coffee in the soft rufescent glow of the rising sun, glaring at his metal mug as he willed its contents to be Ebony. His lips curled in vexation when it failed to transform. Astrals damn the shortage of his favorite brew. He exhaled his frustration as he eyed his breakfast preparations. The pots and pans sat idle, ready for use. It would be hours before his comrades woke; there’d be no use in starting now for the food to grow cold.

The crisp dawn air beckoned him toward the unfolded camping chair by the fire he’d reignited when he first stepped out of the tent. His mind wandered as he drained his cup and the sun continued its ascent. He stood once more, meandering over to the cooking supplies. He heard the tent unzip behind him, sparing a glance over his should to see Gladio emerging.

“Mornin’, Iggs,” he rumbled, voice graveled with remnants of sleep. His muscular tattooed arms snaked around Ignis’s lithe waist as his plush lips nuzzled the crook of his neck. He inhaled the scent of him as his lips danced up his jugular to kiss along his jawline.

Ignis hummed and turned into the kiss, parting his lips to entwine them with Gladio’s. “Good morning, my love,” he cooed to his giant teddy bear boyfriend.

“Have Noct and Prom stirred yet?” He inquired.

“Nah, our kids’ll probably sleep another hour or two, you know how they are.”

“Gods, not you too,” Ignis huffed and returned his attention to dicing vegetables.

“What?” Gladio furrowed his brows in confusion, pulling away from Ignis to gauge his posture. Gladio rested one hand on the table, placing the other on his hip. “Iggy, look at me,” he pushed when Ignis pursed his lips.

Relenting, he shifted to face Gladio. “The ‘mom and dad’ jokes Noct and Prom insist on. And now, you’re contributing.” He didn’t have to glare at Gladio; the ferocity in his verdant eyes bore the full weight of his displeasure.

Gladio averted his eyes, contemplating the ire in Ignis’s voice. He rolled his shoulders in a disarming shrug, “It’s all in good fun… What’s got you so worked up about it?”

“Nothing,” Ignis asserted. “It’s just in poor taste.”

“Talk to me, Iggs.” Gladio ran his hand over Ignis shoulder down his bicep, grasping his elbow. His thumb ran soothing circles over the joint there, trying to coax his lover into communication.

“Now’s not the time,” Ignis’s voice replied evenly, but his expression wilted with the weight of his thoughts.

“Don’t do that.” Ignis opened his mouth to question Gladio, but was silenced by his soft yet resolute tone, “Don’t shut me out.”

Gladio learned long ago that Ignis responded to harsh remarks and confrontation by further receding into himself and pushing others away. Instead, Gladio learned to keep his posture open, his tone gentle, and his eyes attentive. He practiced this now, searching Ignis with amber orbs and entreating him to relax his guard.

Ignis gave Gladio a side-eyed glance through his spectacles as he deliberated his reply. His eyelids dropped shut, wincing against the emotion battering at his inner defenses. 

“We’ll never have a family of our own,” he murmured, his voice low to abate the sob that threatened to crack it like the eggs he’d set out for breakfast.

Gladio’s eyes fell to the ground between them as silence washed over the two men. His hand dropped from Ignis’s arm to rake over his face, trying to obscure the pain reverberating within him. He searched his mind and heart for the proper response to his partner’s fear. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat, to release the ache in the jaw, to retract the tears springing into his eyes. At a loss, he grabbed Ignis’s shoulders and pulled his slender frame against the brick wall of his chest, enveloping him completely.

Ignis’s hands clutched to the cotton fabric of Gladio’s Crownsguard tank top. He sighed against the sorrow in his heart, willing back the sense of loss at a future residing beyond his reach. Gladio cleared his throat, echoing the raw emotion Ignis felt.  
“Thought we had a pact to take this one day at a time… We promised not to talk about that kind of stuff.”

“That ‘stuff’ is inevitable, Gladio. We both know our relationship has an expiration date.”

“It doesn’t have to.” Gladio’s arms tightened around him in an unspoken promise.

“Gladio.” Ignis’s stern voice made him drop his hold. Gladio waited, his visage soft and affectionate despite the growing uncertainty roiling inside of him. “One day it will be time for us to stop dreaming. We’ll fulfill our duties, marry appropriately, and carry on our respective family names.”

“Iris can carry on the family name.”

“ _Iris_ will take her husband’s name and mother _his_ lineage.”

“Who says?” Gladio shrugged, maintaining a tenuous hold on his temper to prevent their lover’s spat from escalating to a full-blown fight.

“Gladio…” Ignis shook his head, adjusting his glasses frames. “There’s more at stake than our happiness, we’ve sworn oaths. Our tryst will—”

“Don’t you dare!” Gladio growled. He felt a tangible snap of the last straw within him as his control shattered. “Don’t you downgrade the best years of my life to some five-year long hook-up.”

Ignis crossed his arms, unyielding. “I love you, Gladio. But you’re delusional and there will come a time that we both must put each other aside.”

“No.” Gladio shook his head in defiance. “I’ll fight for us. _Noct_ will fight for us.”

“ _Noct_ will have an entire kingdom to rule and our duties include not distracting him with something as minor as our love affair.”

“When we return, we’ll kick the Nifs out and rebuild Lucis. Insomnia will be a new city. It could be better, stronger, more accepting,” Gladio tried to reason. Even he knew he was being naïve, but he refused to let his hope for him and his partner wither under the expectations of others, duties be damned. He would always keep his oaths to the crown and protect his king. Who he married didn’t have a lick to do with it from where he was standing.

“Ah, yes, I can see it now,” Ignis began, laced with sarcasm. “The King returns with his Adviser and Shield, a couple of merry faggots.”

Gladio felt the ache in his jaw return as he ground his teeth together so hard he swore he could hear his molars cracking. His lips waned to a thin line and he flexed his hands to resist clenching them into fists. He tried, but Ignis continued.

“The kingdom, in it shattered state, will no doubt rejoice.” He wanted Gladio to stop him, wanted to stop himself. The bitter resentment at his lover’s unbridled optimism urged him on. “But just _wait_ until we announce the wedding. We’ll marry with all the pomp and opulence afforded to retainers of the crown.”

“Stop,” Gladio begged sotto voce.

“After that, we’ll adopt some orphans, and who would take issue with that? Two fairies –”

“Stop!” Gladio roared. “You’re snuffing out our future before we’ve even given it a chance. I get that you’re the logical one when it comes to this stuff, but you’re breaking my Gods damned heart, Iggy. Damn it…” He huffed, both hands threading through to pull at the ends of his hair. “How can you just ignore the fire in your heart? I know it’s there. I know you love me. ‘Ignis’, your name MEANS fire, but you’re cold as Shiva sometimes and it chills me to the bone.”

Ignis watched his lover, arms folded and feet planted, but his stance wavered. Gladio rubbed his eyes in what Ignis perceived as frustration. When his hand dropped, and his eyes rose to meet Ignis’s, he saw tears spilling over the long lashes and tracing down the vertical scar.

“You love me, as much as I love you. I believe in us. Thought you did too.” Gladio retreated to the chair by the fire and collapsed into it. He hunched over with his elbows resting on his knees as he fumbled his hands together.

Ignis’s eyes followed his movements, willing his body to move toward Gladio’s hulking form. His heart ached at his harsh words and the resulting calamity. He uncrossed his arms and approached Gladio.

“I spoke out of turn,” he apologized, rubbing Gladio’s shoulders with his gloved hands. “It was cruel of me to demean our relationship, I’m sorry. I have faith in us, Gladio. I’m just afraid of tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that…”

“That’s why we have… had… the pact.” Gladio mumbled.

“I know… I’m sorry I broke it. I can’t help the ache in my heart every time they call us ‘mom’ and ‘dad’. It wears on me…”

“It might not be the family we imagine, but we are a family. A damn good one.”

“I hadn’t considered that…” Ignis admitted.

“C’mere,” Gladio beckoned. As Ignis stepped around him, Gladio wrapped him in his outstretched arm and hauled him onto his lap.

“Gladio,” Ignis huffed. “Honestly…” Despite his chiding tone, Ignis chuckled along with Gladio. He draped an arm over Gladio’s broad shoulders as Gladio nuzzled his head into his chest.

“Everything’s gonna be okay, Iggy,” he promised. “’M always gonna fight for us.” He raised Ignis’s hand and kissed the exposed flesh just below his glove. “If you need something to hang your hat on, you can count on that. ’M always gonna be here for you, for us.”

“Yes, and I, you, my love,” He reassured. “As long as you straighten me out from time to time,” He added as a joke to soften the mood.

“I can think of a few ways to keep your head straight,” Gladio mused, “But I can think of a lot more to scramble it.” His hand slid up Ignis’s thigh only to be swatted away. “What? No make-up sex?”

The tent flap opened once more, and the two younger men stepped out, stretching their sleep weary limbs. Gladio groaned and dropped his head back, crestfallen at the interruption.

“You guys done fighting? We heard yelling.” Noctis yawned, his hand idly scratching the back of his head.

“Quite finished,” Ignis confirmed. “Apologies, your Highness.” Noct rolled his eyes at the use of his title and slumped down into a chair opposite them; Prompto followed suit.

“We were about to make up,” Gladio glared at the oblivious duo.

“Huh?” Prompto inquired, to which Noct raised his hand and shook his head at his innocent friend.

“ _I’m_ about to prepare breakfast,” Ignis quipped. “Feel free to make up with yourself in the tent if need be.”

“Gross.” Noct’s face twisted at the implication.

“Sounds like Dad’s still in the dog house,” Prompto snickered.

“Knock it off with that,” Gladio scorned him.

“Perhaps if you didn’t encourage them, _your_ sons would behave themselves.”

“‘My’ sons?” Gladio quirked an eyebrow at Ignis, amusement replacing the cross features directed at Prompto.

“They’ve too many bad habits for me to call them ours. Too much like their other father.” Ignis returned.

“That how it is, is it?” Gladio grinned, too dumbstruck with love to protest against Ignis’s assertions regarding his ‘habits’.

“Indeed.” Ignis leaned into kiss Gladio’s temple and found his lips entangled with Gladio’s instead, a rough hand cupping his cheek to redirect him from his intended target.

“Ugh, c’mon,” Noct groaned when the kiss deepened. “Stop already.”

Ignis eased himself from the osculation, pressing his forehead to Gladio’s. “To the future?”

“To the future,” Gladio agreed and pecked his lips, nuzzling their noses together.


End file.
